Pivotable bracket for slub catchers



Dec. 13, 1960 A. A. BRAME ETAL 2,963,768

PIVOTABLE BRACKET FOR SLUB CATCHERS Filed Jan. 9, 1956 37 35 qgmumumnm INVENTORS ARTHUR A. BRAME BROCKTON R. LYON, JR.

ATTORNEY United States Patent PIVOTABLE BRACKET FOR SLUB CATCHERS Arthur A. Brame and Brockton R. Lyon, Jr., Greensboro, N.., assignors to Brame Textile Machine Company, Greensboro, N.C., a corporation of North Carolina Filed Jan. 9, 1956, Ser. No. 558,016

1 Claim. (Cl. 28-64) The present invention relates to slub catchers and relates more particularly to the combination of a bladetype slub catcher which may be supported for pivotable displacement within predetermined limits in response to the action of a traveling yarn or strand which passes through the slub catcher.

Despite the fact that blade-type slub catchers are manufactured from superior wear-resistant materials which materials include high carbon steels and special alloy steels that are subjected to a suitable heat treatment to impart a hard Wear-resistant surface and the application of hard nickel plating, the blades used in yarn slub catchers are unable to withstand the abrasive wearing action to which they are constantly subjected. This characteristic wear produced by the abrasive action of a traveling yarn will vary considerably depending on the physical characteristics of the yarn being used.

The conventional stationary slub catcher installation provides a blade-type slub catcher having posts that are spaced apart from each other with sufficient clearance to permit a single yarn end, having the required specifications as to denier, to pass therethrough between the spaced apart posts. At irregular intervals a traveling yarn may have incorporated therein a slub, formed either from an accumulation of lint and other fibrous materials and slashing solution, a knot, or other yarn imperfection, any one of which may be caught by the slub catcher blade provided the slub is sufiiciently large. By subjecting a very limited region of the blade to the traveling action of an abrasive yarn, as by confining yarn displacement or blade movement, appreciable localized wear evidenced by a worn spot or enlarged opening is produced. Worn slub catcher blades permit the yarn to retain many slub knots and other imperfections within the yarn resulting in the production of seconds or imperfect fabrics.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a slub catcher assembly which will permit prolonged wear of a slub catcher blade.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a means for supporting a suitable slub catcher blade in such a manner as to permit the slub catcher blade to be displaced freely between limits in response to deflections of yarn as a yarn travels through a slub catcher.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a pivotable bracket for supporting or mounting a slub catcher wherein the slub catcher may pivot freely between limits in response to lateral deviations of linear yarn travel.

Yet another object of the present invention is the provision of a pivotable bracket for supporting a slub catcher blade wherein the life of the blade is prolonged by permitting the blade to shift freely in response to the path of yarn travel thereby varying the yarn contact area automatically which a traveling yarn engages within the slub catcher blade.

Other objects and many of the attendant advantages of this invention for reducing slub catcher blade wear will be readily apparent to those skilled in this art during the course of the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification and wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a combination bracket incorporating one form of the present invention and shown oriented in one mounting position;

Fig. 2 is a partial perspective View of the pivotable slub catcher blade receiver per se;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the pivotable slub catcher receiver and slub catcher blade depicting, in outline form, limits of pivotal displacement for the embodiment illustrated;

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view taken substantially along the plane of line 44 of Fig. 3.

Referring to the drawing and more particularly to Fig. 1 there is shown therein broadly a combination slub catcher and pigtail assembly 10 which may be mounted to the framework of a creel or other suitable winding and reeling apparatus through an opening 11 in the bracket arm 12 in order to support the assembly on the apparatus as a yarn end or strand 13 travels through the pigtail 14 and the slub catcher blade 15.

The individual yarn guide posts or wings 16 and 17 of the slub catcher blade 15 are securely fastened as by spot welding or other suitable fastening means to a U-shaped plate 18. The clearance 19 provided between the innermost faces of the posts is accurately set during fabrication of the slub catcher blade by feeler gages or other suitable measuring instruments. The exposed yarn receiving free end of each of the posts 16 and 17 is provided with an incline 20 to form a divergent entrance to facilitate the introduction of a yarn end or strand between the posts into the clearance opening 19, as is illustrated in Fig. 1.

Although the clearance limits are accurately set during fabrication, the abrasive action of a fast traveling yarn acting constantly within a concentrated or limited region of the slub catcher blade appreciably accelerates blade wear. Despite the fact that the blade posts 16 and 17 are made of a high carbon steel and have been subjected to a careful heat treatment, to obtain a hardness indication on the Rockwell C scale of approximately 60, the limited area of the blade posts contacted by the yarn become worn after a short period of use.

Periodically, depending upon the rate of blade wear, as a limited portion of the blade posts becomes worn sufficiently to permit objectionable size slubs to pass through the clearance provided between posts, the yarn end may be shifted to another position along the straight portion of the posts by moving the eye 21 of the pigtail 14. The eye 21 may be displaced by varying the length of the stem 22 which is in threaded engagement with the locking nuts 23 and 24 that are positioned on opposite sides of the pigtail bracket base 25. It will be apparent that by manipulating the length of the pigtail stem 22 increased blade utilization may be expected.

Although this method of prolonging the life of the slub catcher blade has been found to be desirable it has been further discovered that due to the non-linear travel of the yarn 13, such as is produced by the ballooning efifect experienced as the yarn is unwound from pirns or bobbins, the abrasive action first against one post and then the other is quite pronounced due to the increased pressure and action exerted in one direction or the other. To compensate, in some measure, for this non-linear travel of the yarn the slub catcher blade receiver 28 is supported on the bracket projection 29 for free pivotable movement, between limits in response to lateral deflection of yarn travel. The receiver 28 for supporting the slub catcher blade therein is provided with a pocket 26 formed by the stamped metal casing that is folded back on itself to form the base 30. In the embodiment illustrated the front and back receiver portions 31 and 32 are sufiiciently resilient due to the partially open sides 33 to frictionally retain a blade in position within the pocket during normal deflections'of blade orientation. The portions 31 and 32 of the receiver may be provided with a central notch opening 34 in order to expose a longer wear surface length between the posts or wings 16 and 17. Secured to'one side of the slub catcher receiver as by spot welding or other fastening'means is a slubcatcher receiver holder arm 35 through which there is an opening 36.

The slub catcher receiver'arm opening 36 is made to register with the opening 37 in the bracket projection 29 to receive a rivet 38 through the openings 36 and 37 thereby securely retaining the slub catcher receiver 28 to the bracket projection 29 for free pivotable movement.

As the lateral displacement or deflection of the yarn issomewhat limited in unwinding and winding applications it is desirable to limit the included angle through which the slub catcher blade may pivot. 'One means of providing for this limited pivotal displacement is by securing limit stops or lugs 40 and 41 to the bracket projection 29 adjacent to the exposed length of the receiver holder arm 35. The limit stops 40 and 41 extend in the plane with the projection 29 for a short length and then are turned normal to the projection a sufficient length, as shown in Fig. 2. Pivotable movement of the slub catcheris limited as the limit stops 40 and 41 will strike either a portion of the base 30 or a'mitered corner of the receiver in opposite directions of pivotable movement, as clearly shown in outline form in Fig. 3. Although the limit stops are illustrated as being integral with the bracket projection 29, to facilitate fabrication, obviously other suitable means for limiting the pivotable movement of the slub catcher receiver or of a slub catcher blade may be used with comparable results. It will be readily apparent to those skilled in this art that other means for retaining a slub catcher blade within the slub catcher receiver may be provided. Furthermore, it is within the inventive concept to provide a slub catcher blade having means for directly mounting a blade to a supporting bracket as by a rivet or other suitable readily removable fastening means, such as a bolt and nut.

In operation of the above described apparatus the pig tail 14 is elongated to its outermost position so as to confine the yarn end 13 within the slub catcher blade opening 19 between the slub catcher blade posts 16 and 17. As the yarn deflects slightly in its travel during winding or unwinding operations the blade will be permitted to pivot freely in response to the deflection of the yarn. When the blade wears and fails to catch objectionable slubs, and knots,-the pigtail 14 may be shortened to position the yarn in a new location between the slub catcher blade posts. This adjustment may continue until the entire surface between the posts has worn to the point where the clearance between the posts is no longer satisfactory for the yarn being used.

Obviously many modifications and variations may be made in the structureand arrangement of the slub catcher receiver and the slub catcher blade as well as the fastening means for pivotally mounting the slub catcher receiver or receivers to a support in the light of the above teaching without departing from the real purpose and spirit of this invention. a It is, therefore, to be understood that within the scope of the appended claim many modified forms of the present inventive concept as well as the use of alternatives and mechanical equivalents may be reasonably included and modifications are contemplated.

What is claimed is:

A slub catcher combination comprising a slub catcher mounting bracket for attachment to a winding apparatus, a bifurcated slub catcher blade having an open yarn receiving end and an extended linear yarn clearance opening between furcations to confine a traveling yarn end therein, a blade receiver socket, said receiver socket being fastened at one end to the bracket to pivot freely transversely to yarn travel in response to lateral deflections of the yarn, and means on the bracket for limiting the included angle of slub catcher pivotable displacement by engaging the receiver socket at selected positions of movement, said limiting means including a pair of lugs mounted on the bracket in spaced relation to each other to project into the path of the blade receiver in opposite directions of travel. 

